Pied Piper
Although X-Factor was not yet aware of their existence, Pied Piper marks their first encounter with Remaal al-Sahra. As a part of their Project Portal, al-Sahra abducted a number of adolescent mutants and shipped them through a man-made rift into the Pied Piper AU, where they were trained as soldiers. Because of a time shift between our world and the rift, the abductees experienced years while the normal world experienced weeks. X-Factor planted Agent Illyana Rasputin for abduction, then tracked her to Nicaragua, where they eventually found the portal and went through. Although they were able to rescue a number of the abducted children, most now several years older, many others remained behind, and the collapsed portal has not, to X-Factor's knowledge, been re-opened since. Events Prior to February 2009 *In the previous three years, a wide-spread group of individuals began to coalesce under common leadership. T have proven hostile to several Western nations, including Britain and the US. February 2009 *MI5 passes along their certainty that this group is multinational and operating out of a number of different countries. They bring the abduction of a number of mutant children across the world by this group, code-named Piper, to the United States' attention. *President Richards agrees to greenlight the expansion of X-Factor, which had previously been a trial group of four mutant agents. *13 missing children from US are identified. Britain reported 5 children missing, and Canadian Security Intelligence shared that they have had 3 which appear to fit the pattern. Intel from other countries is more limited and unreliable. :Reno :*We were notified about a possible kidnapping in Reno. :*Upon investigation, we learned of a probable pick up routine for mutant captures. :Los Angeles :*Illyana was disguised as a pyrokinetic. An accident was staged to gain the attention of the local media, and the bait was taken. March 2009 *Illyana’s GPS device led from Los Angeles to an airport in Bluefields, Nicaragua, then followed the course of the Escondido River to a port city some 80 miles upriver called El Rama before shifting south along the Rio Mico. *Her GPS signal disappeared completely. The area where Agent Rasputin was last located is about 20 miles south of El Rama, along a sizable tributary called Rio Mico. :Nicaragua :*Recon revealed a Sandinista base in the area which had recently experience an influx of equipment and money. The base was heavily guarded and appeared to consume far more supplies than it needed. :*Inside the AU, the Pied Piper kids arranged an escape attempt that ended with them captured but Illyana's GPS chip being transported back to the real world. :*X-Factor surrounded the Sandanista base early evening of the 8th. One team went through the portal while another held the base. :*The Sandisita base was destroyed, and the equipment which operated the AU portal was lost in its entirety to fire. A number of people were trapped on the other side. :*X-Factor rescued Tobias Ryder, Walter West, Nadia al-Razi, Tom Sikorski, and Illyana Rasputin. They had no memory of their time in the AU, as their memories had been wiped as punishment for the escape attempt. :* Another four, and a likely fifth, appear to have escaped through the portal during the riot. Later intelligence revealed them to be the Pied Piper Soldiers :*All children appear to have aged between one and six years during their time in captivity. Post March 2009 - Fallout Although this particular case was considered closed, several subsequent missions directly related to the events and groups encountered during Pied Piper. Most notably, X-Factor continued to engage with the Pied Piper Soldiers and later came to attribute aspects of this mission to al-Sahra and Burro Shipping. Important Evidence People Groups *Remaal al-Sahra - It has become clear since the mission that Pied Piper was a huge part of al-Sahra's Project Portal. They are responsible for the purchasing of the abducted children, the creation of the rift to the alternate universe, and the training of abducted children as soldiers. They also attempted to brainwash their soldiers into joining their cause, and were often, but not always, successful. *Burro Shipping has since been identified as the group which abducted and shipped the mutant children, supply al-Sahra with an unknown number of mutant adolescents during the course of Project Portal. Individuals Remaal al-Sahra *Carmen ran the Project Portal program and was responsible for training children into soldiers in the alternate universe. She windwiped Walter, Nadia, Tom, Illyana, and Tobias after an attempted escape, erasing all memories of their time in the AU. Abducted Children, 2008-2009 Confirmed Piper Victims * Charlie Barrows - Speedster; abducted from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 11, 2008 at the age of 13. * Trieu Thang - Pyrokinetic; abducted from Vietnam on some date at the age of some age. * Shelia Kendrick - Terrakinetic; abducted from Australia on November 2, 2008 at the age of 14. * Gregor Novotny - Dream manipulator; abducted from the Czech Republic on November 18, 2008 at the age of 15. * Kevin McAulleach - Phaser; abducted from Ireland on January 3, 2009 at the age of 14. *Tom Sikorski - Telepath; abducted from New York City sometime between Jan 20 and Feb 9, 2009 at the age of 12. *Nadia al-Razi - Empath, minor telepath; abducted from Westchester, New York on February 8, 2009 at the age of 13. *Tobias Ryder - Turns self and others into gaseous fog; abducted from Westchester, New York on Feb 8, 2009 at the age of 18. *Walter West - Strength, speed, healing; abducted from Westchester, New York on February 11, 2009 at the age of 16 * James Harwin - Teleporter; abducted from New Zealand on April 9, 2009 at the age of 13. *Illyana Rasputin - Faked pyrokinetic, actual teleporter; abducted from Los Angeles, California on March 2, 2009 at the age of 21. Suspected Piper Victims *Joseph Wells - Concentrated explosions; Disappeared from Chicago, Illinois on December 28, 2008 at the age of 12. *Victor Farrows - Rapid Friction Generation; Disappeared from Los Angeles, California on January 15, 2009 at the age of 15. Locations *Reno, Nevada - Agents investigate the disappearance of a mutant. * Los Angeles, California - Illyana is set as bait and abducted. *Bluefields, Nicaragua - Illyana's GPS leads to an airport in the city, and agents soon follow. *Puente Sobre, Nicaragua - A small town up the Rio Escondido where Illyana's GPS was last seen. *Sandinista Compound - A former military compound which appears to have picked up significant activity in the prior several years, about ten miles beyond Puente Sobre. *Hydroelectric dam - Built on the Rio M-something, near the Sandinista compound, it provided a huge amount of electricity to the compound. *Pied Piper Alternate Universe - Abducted children were taken through a man-made rift and trained on an al-Sahra compound in this other Nicaragua. The time there is significantly increased, although unpredictably so. Someone passing through may experience hours to the seconds on the other side, or years to the weeks. Notes Considered X-Factor's 'trial run,' Pied Piper was the first mission involving a full X-Factor team rather than the original four agents (Remy LeBeau, Terry Cassidy, Pete Wisdom, and Will Drake). Many X-Factor agents were recruited at this time, some against their will, some questionably willing: notably, a group from New York City, many belonging to the Hellfire Club and all knowing each other. Links *Original Brief *Nicaragua Brief *Wrap-up Report *Mission Compilation Images File:PiedPiperAUMap.gif|A map of the compound inside the Pied Piper AU File:PiedPiperAU.jpg|Nicaraguan mountains in the Pied Piper AU File:Bluefields1.jpg|Bluefields, Nicaragua File:EscondidoRiver.png|The Rio Escondido File:PuenteSobre.png|Approaching Puente Sobre, Nicaragua File:SandinistaCompound.jpg|A map of the general Puente Sobre area and the Sandinista Compound File:PiedPiperAU2.jpg|Nicaraguan Jungle Links *Nicaragua *Roundup Category:2009 Missions